Halo
by Racerchick
Summary: Tragedy strikes East High, how will the wildcats survive when one of their players doesn't come back to the court to play anymore?
1. Chapter 1

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AN: This is my first HSM Story! Woot! Anyway... I want to dedicate it to the families of the fallen. There are too many victims in today's society and that's well to be honest that's stupid...so this is a story for them.

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There was a slight mist in the air. Cotton candy clouds of pinkish gray floated through the air surrounding the town and it's occupants with a world of wonder. Swirls of reddish orange that was really more of a mango color danced throughout the sky as leaves left their perches on trees everywhere to join the wind and paint the sky like miniature Picassos and Van Goghs alike. Bird twitter and flitter to and fro with their beaks bursting with newly caught worms for their nearly ready to migrate down south, well what little down south there was, children. All in all Albuquerque New Mexico was a festive sight for sore eyes to all the children ready for it to be Halloween and then Christmas. It was on one such fall day when the unthinkable happened to the Easy High Wildcats.

"Troy! Troy wait up!" Chad called through the throngs of people surrounding him. Looking over Troy grabbed his flailing hand pulling him into the mass of kids surrounding him and talking a million miles a minute about something or another to do with the game last night. Troy was pretty much used to this, as was Chad, but it did get old after a while.

"Alright guys, we really do have to get to class right now, please move." Troy said after he spotted Gabriella and Taylor entering the door. "Thank you thank you, please excuse us." he said pulling him and Chad out of the throng and into a space of pure air. It was a good feeling, being able to breathe again that is. Spotting them Taylor and Gabi hastened over with smiles of joy on their face. "Hey beautiful," Troy said.

"Hey baby." Chad said wrapping his hands around Taylor and pulling her close to him letting his chest melt into hers and landing his lips onto hers gracefully and with ease. She smiled into the kiss and rubbed her hands on his shoulder, something that a couple of years ago she would never have done. "How are you?" Chad asked after they'd separated their lips. His forehead was still touching hers and he could smell the mint on her breath, something that was always nice to know.

"I'm pretty good right now, considering." Her smile lit his eyes up and turning he saw that Troy and Gabi were staring at them in obvious wonder and little bit of amazement. "Come on, we'll be late for class." Taylor said hearing the bell ring for first period; they had homeroom with Ms. Darbus, a true delight—not. It was with Chad's arm around her waist and Troy's around Gabriella's that the group walked down the halls smiling and laughing.

"Quiet class, quiet. I said QUIET! Do I need to assign detentions?!" Ms. Darbus said as the final bell rang. "You're late Jason, take a seat." She said as a boy walked in with a stupid smile on his face only to be replaced with a slight frown as he quickly took his seat behind Taylor. "Alright now, an announcement for the day, as always our fall play is going to be coming up soon and as always I welcome you all to come audition so we can see what hidden talent you all possess. There is a bake sale going on tonight to help support your wildcat basketball team on their way to the state championship so make sure you all go." She said, the last comment getting a little less enthusiasm than the first.

"Excuse me Ms. Darbus?" someone asked at the door. He was a rather tall boy, probably a senior, with dark blonde hair and brilliant brown eyes. Turning she shot him a look that said one, 'what?' and two, 'how dare you interrupt my class?' "Um, you're supposed to go down to the office there's a package or something for you." He said pointing out the door not really worrying about what way he was pointing.

"Well, Taylor you're in charge."

"Yes ma'am."

Troy smiled, shook his head, and waited for Ms. Darbus to leave before getting up and walking back to Gabriella's seat to talk. Chad turned to face Taylor and the room was quickly filled with the buzz of chatter from one side to the other. It was loud and getting louder, so much so that no one really noticed what the boy who'd came to give the message to Ms. Darbus was doing, no one that is, except for Kelsi and Jason. Taking a small box out of the bag that he'd been carrying is what caused Kelsi to jump a little and look around to find someone who could maybe do something only to realize that everyone else was too busy in conversation to care what the kid was doing. When she turned back she saw the kid pointing a gun out the door and pull the trigger that seemed to produce a sound that echoed throughout the school for hours.

Screams erupted into the class as everyone looked around to figure out who had just shot the gun only to see that same kid holding the gun towards them. The door was locked by now and the boy was staring straight ahead no emotions showing in his eyes. It didn't take but two seconds for Chad to push Taylor down to the ground behind him and stare at the boy wondering how many bullets he had and what he wanted. There they stayed for what seemed like hours, maybe even days before the boy made the first move. Taking a step forward he crossed the room making the front row kids shake in his presence as if praying that he'd just want to scare them and not really kill them.

"Who knows what day it is? Anyone… come on volunteers? No one?" A twisted smile entered his face and he looked around the room stopping on some of the smarter kids as if they should know the answer but unfortunately they didn't. "Today, children, well today is the day that you're going to die." He said letting out a laugh and pointing the gun right at a girl in the front row. "So who's going to be first, and who's going to be last?"

"What do you want?" Troy asked, well more like demanded.

"Troy Bolton, basketball star and all around good guy wants to know what I want. Let me fill you in you one shot bobble head," he started. His tone had gone from completely mellow to being that of an investigator interrogating a suspect, cold and cruel. "I don't want money or anything like that. What I want, you can't give me. Nobody gets it anymore, when a kid brings a gun to school it's not because they want something it's because they've lost something. They've lost something that they can't ever get back."

"Let the girls go, just let all the girls go." Chad said holding Taylor's hand in his. There were fearful tears forming in her eyes that she was fighting to hold back. All the guys nodded in agreement that the girls should be let go.

"Shut up you goodie goodie, it's not like everyone doesn't know that the only reason you're saying that is so your little whore will be safe after you guys beat the living crap out of me. Yeah sweetheart I can see you and no way does a guy date you unless he wants something on the side, especially a guy like Chad Danforth. Come here," he said pointing at Taylor. "Yeah you cupcake get up here." Getting up slowly she inched towards the gun that was pointed at her. "Listen to me and you listen good, I want you to take this duck and go tape a square over there, in the back. Not too big you hear?" She nodded her head and he let her go before turning back to the group of kids watching him.

Chad shot murderous looks at him as if telling him with his eyes that if he hurt Taylor he was as good as dead. Troy held Gabi in his arms as she cried on his shoulder. He kissed her hair and told her it would be alright when truthfully he didn't know. Kelsi started to slide behind Jason who started to push her to the back of the room and Sharpay sat beside Zeke shaking as he rubbed her shoulder. "Man, why are you doing this? If things were this bad why didn't you tell someone?" Chad finally said.

"What was I supposed to say, I think tomorrow I'm going to take a gun to school and shoot the class that made my day a living hell? Yeah good idea Chad." Looking towards Taylor and seeing that she was done he moved towards her and grabbed her from behind holding her against him with the gun on her head. "Every guy in this room better get his butt in that square or she's dead." He said. Chad's eyes widened and he was the first to get up and move across the room before turning around to see that every other guy in the room had followed suit and were right behind him. After the last guy had crossed the line the boy all but threw her away from him and told all the girls to get to the other side.

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**_So I hoped you liked the first chapter and well that's about it._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: Hey how is everyone? Yeah I know I've been gone for like ever and a day but I've just been rather museless but the muse is back... for now at least. Anyway here's another chapter and maybe I won't take so long to put up s'more... seeing as there's only one left... oooh! Please enjoy!_**

**p.s. this sort of contains swear words so if you don't like them I'm very sorry but there here so deal. **

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"You know, I only ever wanted to be liked." He said looking out at the group of students standing there in pure terror. "I only ever wanted someone to come up to me at lunch and eat with me. I just wanted a friend. Someone who would know when I was down and be able to make it better. Everyone needs a friend right? Well I must have been the exception because I didn't have a single one."

Troy looked to Gabriella and tried to tell her through his eyes that she'd be fine, that it would all be fine. Feeling a hand on his shoulder he looked to see Chad nodding at him letting him know it would be fine that this time tomorrow they'd be walking onto the court with a ball in their hands ready to take on any school that thought they could beat the Wildcats. For a moment it all seemed to get better, that is until the boy walked over and started making threats again. "Get up Bolton," he said pointing the gun at his head. "You know its people like you and Chad that make this school the hell hole that it is did you know that?"

"No,"

"Well now you do. You know you're little perfect world isn't what the real world is like right? In twenty years do you know what you'll be doing? Standing by a window asking 'do you want fries with that' while everyone else that you picked on as a teenager out lives you and out earns you. Your little teeny bopper girl friend is going to end up pregnant and the daddy isn't going to be anyone special, he's going to be a no good dirty ass bitch named Troy Bolton who couldn't keep out of anyone's pants. Do you hear me kid?"

"Yeah. You know…" Troy started taking a slight chance, "you haven't given us you're name."

"That's the beauty isn't it, I don't have to give you something, I don't have to give you anything. I am the controller here and the only way you're going to get out of here alive is if I want you to, just to let you know, you and the rest of the god damn Wildcats aren't all that high on my list of people to save right now."

"Eric," came a voice from the back of the girls. Every head whipped around to reveal a small girl standing in the back beside Kelsi. "His name is Eric Smith and he's a junior here."

"How the hell do you know that?"

"You're in my Chemistry class."

"Little blonde bitch over there is right, the names Eric but I'll bet if she hadn't have said anything you would've died not knowing my name, is that right Bolton?"

"Yes it is."

"That's what I thought," he said bringing a fist to Troy's stomach causing him to fall down in pain. "Walk it off, oh wait you can't because you leave that circle and they all die, can you live with the deaths of all your friends Bolton?"

"Stop it!" Taylor cried and then slapping her hand over her mouth.

"What did you say?"

"I said… stop it! How can you have so much hate in your heart? You're just a kid; you're just in high school, why do you have to bring the real world, the pain, the horror into high school? Why are you doing this?"

"Oh cry me a fuckin' river and get the hell over. Do you honestly think that I have to explain myself to you, a whiny, snot nosed little brat, do you think that I would ever think of you as an equal, as any of you as equals for that matter. You guys don't get it do you? This is the real world, this is what you've got to live with this is what you've got to go through in the god damn real world! I didn't bring the real world to you I just opened your pretty little eyes to the truth. So wake up and see the real deal, there is no good anymore only evil and the sooner everyone learns that the quicker everything gets better."

"How can you say that? How can you stand there and say that to us? Don't you get it? The real world the adult world isn't meant for us right now! It's broken and messed up beyond the repair of that generation but we've got a whole new world that we can create, all you've got to do is wait for it to come." Taylor said wiping some tears from her eyes. "I know it gets hard okay I know but this isn't the way out, Eric listen to me this isn't what you want to do this isn't the way out please believe me!"

"I'm done believing; right now this is all about grieving. Do you know what happened last night? Anyone come on some one has to know." Looking around it was obvious that nobody knew what had happened that was so important. When this was overly evident Eric's already frozen ice blue eyes dropped about twenty degrees as he stared straight ahead at the girls who were watching him cautiously. "My best friend committed suicide. Said he couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't take anymore of being ignored and pushed around and bullied. He took this gun, the one I'm holding, and shot himself in the head. Know what I did, I tried to pull the damn trigger but he only had one fuckin' bullet in there so I couldn't. So I thought about it and decided he had more at home I'd just go and get one and then do it but then I got another idea, why not get the message out first?"

By now he was pointing the gun that they knew was fully loaded and cocked at the girls leaving nearly every guy on edge ready to run at him if he fired. Taking a step forward Eric pointed the gun straight at Kelsi's head and told her to stand up. "I decided," he said when she'd gotten close to him, "that I'd have to tell someone of his death, someone other than his parents who wouldn't give a damn one way or another. That's when it came to me, why don't I take some stupid pricks out with me. Kelsi, has anyone in this room ever done something to hurt you?"

"Yeah," she said nodding her head a little hoping he'd leave it at that. Somehow she knew that he wouldn't but that he would be able to see through her lie if she had. "You did."

"Back up what?!"

"You're hurting me right now, you're twisting my arm and it hurts." She said with a weak smile as he let her arm go and shoved her forward towards the guys that were sitting ready for the attack, almost like statues. Jason caught her eye and she looked deep into them begging him for help she knew he couldn't give her. A tear ran down her cheek as she felt Eric standing beside her and the gun pressed against her head as he repeated the question.

"Who has ever hurt you in this room besides me? Was it Troy? Chad? Who?"

"No… Chad and Troy have never hurt me. No one has!"

"Someone has had to hurt you at some point. You've never broken up with a boyfriend have you? Never had a fight, never got dissed by the jocks?"

"No, no."

"You worthless lying piece of shit!" Eric yelled pushing her forward and aiming his fatal shot at her. Everyone heard the gun go off but until they saw the body on the floor none of them knew that it was possible for something so brave could've been done.

"NO!!!!" Kelsi cried at the top of her lungs. Tears were flowing down her face as she knelt down to the floor taking Jason's hand in hers. Blood was creating a pool beside him and some was inching down his face where it billowed from his mouth. In his eyes there was fear of the unknown and of losing Kelsi. "Jason please stay with me please don't leave me!"

"Chad… protect her!" he said rolling his eyes towards his teammate. "Kels, don't ever for a second dwell on this, I want you to move on. Got me?"

"Jason please don't leave me!"

Holding his hand in hers and pressing on the wound with her other hand Kelsi was a sight to be seen. He wheezed and chocked a little coughing up even more blood. Looking into her eyes and holding her gaze he grew limp. As if a light had been turned off his eyes lost their shine and grew dim but still stared up into hers. With one last pained breath he managed "I love you and don't ever forget that, we'll meet again," before with his last ounce of strength he finally left the world he knew.


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN: Well here's the last part of this little story. I thank you all for reading and reviewing. Yep... that's about it, oh and don't think I won't be back with more stories, I've got a whole brain full! _**

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The echo of the shots rang through the ears of everyone in the room. Kelsi looked down on Jason letting her tears swallow her face as she looked at the boy who two seconds ago had been alive. Turning her face towards Eric she glared at him till no end. Eric on the other hand had large bat like eyes and a shocked face on as if he didn't think the gun was loaded. In fact he almost dropped the gun when he had fired the shot. It wasn't that he didn't know what would happen, he just didn't remember actually loading the gun that morning, he thought he only had one shell and that was in his pocket, apparently he was wrong.

"Happy now?" Kelsi said in a near whisper. Getting up off the ground she starred at him and without taking a breath or a second thought she started towards Eric. "Are you happy now?" she asked again in a calm even voice. Her eyes searched his as if wondering where the answer to her question was. She wanted him to suffer knowing that he'd killed someone and he still wasn't happy. She wanted him to know that she was going to remember Jason but that she'd forget Eric as soon as he was in jail for life. She wanted him to know that when he was dying she'd send a prayer up to Jason and tell him everything he'd done and that he'd make sure that forever more Eric was going to rot, but most importantly she wanted him to know that he didn't just hurt her… he'd hurt a school.

"Oh my god." was all he could say. His hand was shaking and the gun was moving all around. Kelsi held her ground not worrying about whether it went off or not, right then she really could've cared less about it. After all she really just wanted to be in Jason's arms and seeing as that wasn't ever going to be possible again she didn't think it'd really matter one way if she died today or not. "Oh my god." he repeated looking around the room to find a loop hole or something like that. He was in over his head and he knew it… problem was there was no going back.

Sharpay looked around before getting up and walking over to Kelsi. She put her arm around the small girl's shoulders and helped her over to the girls who gathered around her with support and kind words. "Eric, why would you do this?" Sharpay asked him turning to face him. "I know that things are bad and I know that usually I'm the one that makes them that way but you must have had something good here. There must have been something you loved to do, why no concentrate on that?" she asked in true wonder. She'd never known someone to not have something fun that they liked to do; then again she'd never known someone to bring a gun to school and start shooting either. "Why don't you do the right thing now and let everyone go?" she asked him with an air of calm running through her voice.

"I can't do that Sharpay, I've got to live this through now, I've got to finish this off. I didn't mean to shoot him; he just got in the way. Kelsi, I wasn't aiming at you… I was aiming above you. It wouldn't have hit you he was taller and I… I'm so sorry." As it sunk in why he'd killed one of their friends the boys started to get restless as to why they were still standing in the box, but they didn't know if killing one person was going to harden him into an actual killer. "I guess I never knew the final actions that I would take. You know… no one will remember me… but everyone will remember Jason. He was a hero and I, I was the monster. I guess I see that now… I just wish I'd have seen it then. Taking the gun once more and aiming it just right he looked to the body lying on the floor then to the girls huddled in the corner and finally to the boys who looked like they'd kill him if he didn't have that gun. "It's been nice."

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The doors to East High opened as the group of students began to file out. Troy held Gabriella in his arms and helped her down the steps. Taylor cried on Chad's shoulder as they walked towards the mob of police that were standing outside waiting. Kelsi held onto Ryan and Sharpay onto Zeke each holding a sad sorrow in their eyes as if their entire world had crashed before them and they'd never see another bright day for the rest of their lives. As the group of kids reached the police cars they were rushed with medics and other helpful officers who separated them to have a look at each.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Kelsi, Kelsi Nielson." Her voice was empty and listless. Taking a small flashlight the medic started to check her eyes. He wrapped a blanket around the small girl before she started asking more questions. Kelsi answered each of them with the same listless tone as before and barely moved or blinked her eyes at all. Never did a smile cross her face even when she saw her mom and dad, in fact it wasn't until one of the police officers came over to ask her about Jason that they got any reaction at all. "JASON!!!!" she screamed over and over. "Jason don't leave me!" Everyone watched her with utter sorrow in their eyes at the girl who was barely in her senior year and already had lost so much.

"Kelsi calm down, it's okay, it's okay." Ryan said pulling her into a hug. He could feel her tears on his shoulder and her body racking with every gulp for breath as she tried, in vain, to calm herself down. Ryan let her cry as long as she could stand until she found there were no more tears to be found in her eyes and so she sat there, eyes puffy and red, cheeks tear stained and heart broken waiting for someone to tell her she was dreaming and that Jason would see her at school when she woke up. That never came, she wasn't dreaming, he really was gone and she was alone.

The rest of the basketball team, well that was there, watched a stretcher was pulled out of the school. A black body bag lay on top of it and right after that another one was brought out. This had really happened. They'd really lost a team mate, more importantly they'd lost a friend. Chad looked over to where Taylor was. She didn't look much better than Kelsi, but in a different way. Taking his chance he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, baby you okay?"

"It could have easily been you, you could be the one that they were bringing out in a body bag." She said through tears. He'd figured that's what that was all about, somehow that's what it seemed it would be about. Bringing her closer he told her softly that he would never let anything happen to her and that he was always going to be there for her. Kissing her forehead and wrapping her in another hug he thought to himself that she was telling the truth. Had it been Taylor in Kelsi's position Chad wouldn't have waited a second before jumping in front of her, just like Jason, Chad wasn't going to let it be his fault should his girlfriend die.

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It didn't take long for the word to spread about Jason's death or the fact that he died in vain. What did take a long time was the healing factor. Looking back on that day many of the wildcats nearly decided to quit the team. They thought that in honor of Jason they should let the season go, well that was until Kelsi told them that Jason would've wanted them to go on and win the state championship again. They didn't let him down, that's for sure. Although it's been nearly three years since that day the wildcats and their fans still remember that day, the day they lost one of their on, the day the world changed on them and started being a cruel vicious world. And that was the day that they started living… as Jason would've wanted them to. 


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